Report on accomplishments of the
MforkProjects Administration-^
WORK PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
HOWARD 0. HUNTER
Acting Commissioner
REPORT ON PROGRESS OF THE WORKS PROGRAM
AND ViPA's CONTRI OUT I ON TO AND PARTICIPA¬
TION IN THE NATIONAL DEFENSE PROGRAM
By
SMITH
State Administrator
DECEMBER 31, 1940
January 1941
WORK PROJECTS A DMIKISTRATIOK
A Report on the Work Program of the WPA in Washington
In reviewing the operations of the work program for the past year,
Carl W» Smith, state Work projects administrator, stated that it is
apparent that the work of the WPA is concentrating more and more on
projects vital to our National Defense program. More than twenty per¬
cent of the projects approved have been for National Defense and the
ratio is increasing,
in the great task of preparing for our National Defense, the WPA
has proven itself a valuable aid. In the past five years it has been
carrying out work for the Army and Navy and its services in this di¬
rection have been rapidly expanding, in fact, Smith stated, the entire
program of this peace-time army of V/PÂ workers has been a program that
is now organized as one benefiting our National Defense,
Roads and Among the most important of the various activities carried out
Streets;
under the work program is the improving of the state highways, roads
and streets. More than 10,533 miles of roads and streets have been
built since the program began. Roads and streets are being drained
and resurfaced and new macadam or bituminous streets are being con¬
structed in sections heretofore served only by dirt roads. About 40
percent of all WPA money has been spent in this kind of -work. More
than 8,570 miles of rural roads were constructed, of which 900 miles
were high-typo surfaced roads built to make markets more accessible
to farmers and other rural citizens.
Street improvement projects total almost one fourth of the entire
amount of funds expended for the roads and streets program. Such
projects include the widening of streets to relieve traffic conges¬
tion and provide adequate parking space; the removal of abandoned
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street car tracks and the replacement of cobblo stone paving with
even surfaced concrete.
During the past five years the WPA h&s constructed or improved
more than 1,670 miles of streets and alleys in new or neglected
neighborhoods »
bridges In addition to road and street work, V/PA has constructed and
Viaducts:
improved 866 bridges and viaducts, over 5>476 miles of road drainage
ditches and constructed more than 365 miles of sidewalks and paths,
330 miles of curbs, 25 miles of gutters and 130 miles of guard rails
and guard walls.
Street Lights Approximately 900 street light standards were installed and some
and
Street Signs: 15,000 traffic signs erected.
Public In providing employment for thousands of unemployed skilled and
Buildings:
semi-skilled workers during the past five years the V/PA inaugurated
an extensive program for repair and construction of buildings. Seven
hundred sixty-one new buildings were constructed, 1,166 improved or
reconstructed and additions made to 43 others. Smith stated that of
the several types of public building work, projects for the repair
and construction of schools have been most frequently requested be¬
cause of the continual increase in enrollment and deterioriation of
existing school facilities, many of which were obsolete and badly
over-crowded. Extensive school building operations were undertaken
i^ almost every county in the state. Thirty—seven new buildings were
erected, including those at Kirklano, Tracyton, Belfair, Clover Creek,
Jovita, Big Lake, Sultan, Boston Harbor, Granger, Kennydale, Coalfield,
panther Lake, Meridian and pomeroy. Approximately 500 were recon¬
structed or improved and additions were built to 18 others. Twenty-
five libraries were improved.
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Public Buildings - (Cont.)
Other public buildings constructed and remodeled include 29 hospitals,
258 dormitories, 9 fire houses, 84 school garages, 83 storage buildings, 5
armories, and some 450 other miscellaneous type buildings» Seventy-eight
old buildings were demolished» New stadiums, grandstands and bleachers,
with seating capacity of over 268,320 were completed.
RECREATION- jn order to improve the recreational facilities of our communities, the
(parks,
Playgrounds, entered into an extensive program of development of public parks, play-
Athletic
Fields, grounds and athletic fields, providing swimming pools and other recreational
Community
Houses) , , , ,
facilities. Two hundred thirty-five recreational buildings were constructed,
149 improved and 13 additions were built to existing buildings.
Thirty-four new parks were constructed and 150 improved by V/PA» with a
total area of over 5,000 acres. Outstanding park improvements include the
now famous Arboretum, a 260 acre area bordering on Lake Washington and trav¬
ersed by Lake Washington Boulevard, This will be the second largest Ar¬
boretum, in North America and the third largest in the world, exceeded in
size only by the Kew Gardens in London and the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.
The variety of plant life which will ultimately grow in the Washington Ar¬
boretum is expected to be larger than either of the others, thus making it
internationally recognized. Smith stated that of all park projects where
WPÂ labor has been used, this is the largest. Creation of the Arboretum was
ma.de possible through the combined efforts of four agencies; the V/P» the
Seattle Park Department, The Arboretum Foundation and the University of Wash¬
ington, to which the area is leased. Labor and most of the funds have been
supplied by the V/PA*
Almost all of Seattle's more than 40 parks, aggregating more than 2,000
acres, ranging from a quarter acre to 345 acres in size, have been improved
by WPÂ workers whose wages were provided from Federal funds.
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Recreatirn - (Cont.)
Other large recreational fields and parks included in this program aro
the West Seattle Recreational Field with an area of 208 acres; the four
acre athletic field and community club house at Des Moines and beautiful
Sacajawea State park, a ten acre area built by V/PA on a peninsula of white
sand between the Columbia and Snake rivers near their confluence, a few
miles southeast of pasco.
in Tacoma, Washington, the Metropolitan park District sponsored exten¬
sive park improvements which includes the Titlow Beach park where some 385
WPA workers transferred this park into one of the finest on the Coast and
point Defiance Park, a show-place of the pacific Northwest where WPA
carried on an extensive park development program, sponsored by the Tacoma
park Board. More than $1,000»000 in Federal funds was expended for labor
and $80»000 was added by the sponsor for equipment and non-labor items.
One of the outstanding accomplishments at Point Defiance Park was the build
ing of the boat house and the moving of Fort Nisqually to Point Defiance
park by WPA crews from the flats along the Sound where it was originally
erected in 1833 by the Hudson Bay Company. The original logs were saved
and even the old hand-wrought spikes used in its construction were care¬
fully salvaged, straightened and re-used. The Fort consists of Factor's
House and granary, rebuilt from the original materials and the full stock¬
ade built from logs cut from the former site of the Fort,
Other park improvements include the Everett park improvement project,
one of the largest in the state, which calls for clearing of 300 acres,
landscaping of 100 acres, 10 miles of trails, 6 miles of roads, bath houses
comfort stations, care—taker's cottages, community house, three base—ball
diamonds, two tennis courts, one outdoor theatre, a small Arboretum and
2,500 shrubs and trees. The total cost will be almost $600,000» of which
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the sponsor will furnish $126»130 to cover the cost of materials, equip¬
ment and other non-labor items»
Other public park improvements by WPÂ are the Alma Park at Okanogan,
Leveridge Park at Vancouver, Port Angeles Athletic Field, Hoquiam Athletic
Field, Bellingham Park, Sather and Chetzemoka Park at port Townsend, ath¬
letic field and club house at Fort George Wright near Spokane, and many
others.
Included in the development of parks and playgrounds were 30 hand-bali
courts, 51 horse shoo courts, 2,S9 new and 21 improved tennis courts, 20
swimming pools covering a surface area of 5,900 sq, ft», wading pools with
a surface area of 59,000 sq, ft, and ice skating with an area of 55,000 sq,
ft. One hundred one new golf courses were constructed and 63 improved,
covering a total area of more than 1,500 acres,
Water The water supply systems of the communities in the state of Washingtoi
Systems:
have been greatly improved. The scope of these projects vary from the ex¬
tensions of existing systems to the designing and construction of complete
new systems with pipe lines, pumping stations and reservoirs, fourteen
new pumping stations, with a capacity of 9,500,000 gallons per day and one
reconstructed pumping station with a capacity of 216,000 gallons daily,
were built. Five water treatment plants, with a daily capacity of
103,000,000 gallons were constructed. Water mains and distribution lines
laid, total approximately 650 miles and some 10,000 consumers' connections
were constructed. Fifty-one wells were dug and n improved. Storage tanks
and reservoirs numbering 50 now and 10 reconstructed show a total capacity
of 32»359,000 gallons. Four storage dams were built and four improved,
with a capacity of 155,737 acre feet.
Some of the important water systems constructed by V/PA include the
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Tacoma Municipal Water project which, when completed, will contribute to
one of the finest water supply systems in the pacific Northwest» Smith
stated that the clearing of the water shed for the Town of Marysvillo to
minimize fire hazards is also one of utmost importance. When the work is
completed the joint funds of WPÂ an-b Marysvillo will total some $200,000
and will give the city an adequate water supply for all purposes.
The V/PA just completed a 3,000,000 gallon reservoir at Kent. Everett,
Auburn, Renton, Sultan, Blaine, Leavenworth, Okanogan, Wenatchee, Vancouver
Carrols and many other communities throughout the state have made long-
needed improvements to their water systems with the assistance of WPA labor
and funds.
Sewer Aiding in the fight against disease and pestilence and lessening the
Systems ;
danger of stream pollution, the V/PA bas invested more than $7»500» 000 in
constructing and rebuilding sewer systems and building modern sewage dis¬
posal plants throughout the state. Work on sewer systems includes repair
of leaks, rectification of improper drainage, cloaning of ditches and storm
sewers, extension of sewer lines, installation of man holes, catch basins,
service connections and construction of storm sewers to prevent the flood¬
ing of streets,
Since the inauguration of the work program, WPA has constructed 15
sewage treatment plants with a capacity of approximately 30,000,000 gallons
per day, laid more than 340 miles of sanitary sewers, installed 4,000 ser¬
vice connections, constructed 7,530 man holes and catch basins and recon¬
structed 530, also constructed 12 incinerator plants«,
One of the most modern disposal plants in the west has been construct¬
ed at Yakima, Washington, at an investment of more than $300,000* This
work provided employment for 400 workers during the period of construction.
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Similar, but smaller plants, were constructed with WPA labor and funds at
Wapato and Zillah, The plant at Zillah was the city's first sewage dis¬
posal plant, other cities benefiting by disposal plants are Orting, Dayton,
Ellensburg, Leavenworth and Oak Harbor. At Ephrata, in addition to a
modern disposal plant, WPA installed city-wide sewer lines.
At Issaquah WPA is constructing the only complete treatment system in
western Washington. The plant will be completed within the next few weeks.
More than 33,000 feet of six to fifteen inch pipe has been required in the
new system which will replace septic tanks and cess pools. The plant will
accommodate 2,400 people with a capacity of 470,000 gallons, plus industri¬
al and commercial waste, primary and secondary sedimentation, a trickle
filter, two stage digestor and sludge drying beds feature the plant» A
system of gas collection from the sewage, under treatment, will provide fuel
for heating the administration and other plant buildings.
The huge Tacoma city-wide V/PA sewer project started with an original
Federal appropriation of $711,901, to which the city added $183,695» Storm
and sanitary sewers have been installed in various parts of the city. More
than 48 miles of sewer systems have been installed in pierce County. Other
large sewer operations were carried on in Seattle, Yakima and Ellensburg.
Throughout King County more than 40 miles of sewers have been laid.
The Cannon Hill sewer project in Spokane, 'Washington, is one of the
largest and most difficult projects operated by WPA in Washington. This,
work took almost two years to complete. More than 1,200 men were employed
at various times and WPA workers put in close to 800,000 hours of labor.
Federal funds contributed amount to $702,437, mostly for labor, to which the
city added close to $150,000 for equipment, material and other non-labor
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Sanitary
Units :
Telephones,
Electric &
Fire Alarms;
ington are 14 miles of telephone lines, over 80 miles of electric lines
and close to 90 miles of police and fire alarm signal systems»
Conservation The field of Game Fish Conservation has received an impetus from
(Gerne <& Fish)
numerous Work Projects Administration projects, stated Smith, Due to the
increasing popularity of fishing and bird hunting and the consequent heavy
toll taken of birds by the followers of sports, throughout the state, a
speed-up in the production of birds and fish was necessary. For nearly
five years WPA has engaged in projects calling for the construction and re¬
habilitation of fish hatcheries, installation of fish screens vital to the
salmon industry and the preservation of fish life in our lakes and streams.
Eleven new hatcheries were constructed with an annual capacity of over
97,000,000 fingeríings. Seven hatcheries producing 105,000^000 fingerlings
a year were improved and expanded.
To prevent the destruction of migrating fish through irrigation canals
and power diversion canals, i?o rotary fish screen barriers and the in¬
stallation of 237 screen units have been completed,
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costs. More than 25,000 f©et of concrete sewer pipe was used, some of
which was 60 inches in diameter and sunk 21 feet in the deepest areas.
Workers were forced to blast through solid rock and close to i&15,000 was
used for explosives. Cribbing required more than 576,000 board feet of
lumber and 240,000 sewer bricks were used for man holes. The five-mile
Cannon Hill sewer is a credit to the city administration. It is a project
which has been needed for years and made possible only through the assist¬
ance of the Federal government.
Rural areas where sewer systems were not practicable have been bene¬
fited through the installation of some 16,300 individual sanitary units.
Other public utilities constructed by WPA for the citizens of Wash-
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Four game farms have also been rehabilitated in order to supply the
.thousands of game birds released each year to make our state a sportsmen's
"Happy Hunting Ground"* More than $750,000 in V/PA funds have been invest¬
ed in this program to date, providing jobs during this period for approxi¬
mately 15,000 needy workers. Sponsors contributions for material and
equipment rental and other costs have reached more than $230,000» princi¬
pally through the State Department of Fisheries and the State Department
of Game,
Fish hatcheries have been constructed by V/PA at Aberdeen, Bellingham,
Spokane, Yakima, Tokul Creek on the Snoqualmie Pass highway near Falls
City, Seward Park, Seattle, and at Vancouver, Washington, Construction of
a new fish hatchery was started in Cicero near Everett in Snohomish County,
This hatchery is expected to add from two to five million fish annually to
the streams of western Washington, This hatchery will have twelve, insteaô
of the usual ten, concrete rearing ponds, each 40 ft, in diameter. There
will be 96 hatching troughs equipped with the newly developed hatching
tanks. These tanks are constructed under the troughs* Each is four feet
wide, 32 feet long and two feet deep. The newly hatched trout are dropped
into the tanks instead of directly to the rearing ponds and are kept inside
the hatchery for a longer period while the troughs are being re-used.
The world's largest fish screens were installed by the V/PA on the
White River near Buckley in King county. Destruction of countless small
salmon and steel head had resulted from the diversion of approximately one
half the flow of the river into a power canal, with the resulting destruc¬
tion of small fish trapped in the intake of the power turbens. The new
screens are the largest of their type ever constructed, consisting of a
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battery of eight power-driven screens, each 12 feet wide and 14 feet in
diameter»
Irrigation canals are also a menace to fish life. Millions of finger-
lings returning to the sea were diverted to the canals and died in alfalfa
fields and orchards. To prevent this wholesale destruction, WPA installed
screens in the various streams throughout the Counties of Benton, Kittitas,
Chelan, Okanogan and Yakima# Larger fish screens were installed in the
main canals of the Sunnyside Irrigation District near Yakima» The largest
assembly of fish screens ever assembled were placed in the Yakima River at
parker, near Yakima, sponsored by the U» S» Bureau of Fisheries. The in¬
stallation consists of ten screens, each 12 feet long and 13 feet in
diameter and was built to prevent fish in the Yakima River from finding
their way into the ditches of the Yakima Valley irrigation system and to
their destruction. Other work accomplished by the U» S» Bureau of Fish¬
eries is the improvement of grounds and buildings on the Big White Salmon
river near Underwood, also on the Little White Salmon near Carson and re¬
locating buildings and fish hatcheries on the Little White Salmon near
Cook, Washington.
Flood. Control, In keeping with the general recognition of the need for conservation
Land Erosion,
Etc.; measures, the V/PA operated numerous projects which cover a fairly diversi¬
fied field. Irrigation and water conservation facilities, erosion control,
land utilization and similar activities undertaken by V/PA all contribute to
the conservation of our natural resources. A. considerable amount of flood
control and irrigation work has been done. From the beginning of the
program, through September 30, 1940 accomplishments on WPA projects have
included the improvement of over 900 miles of shore, stream-bed and river
banks. The construction and reconstruction of some 160,000 lin» ft« of
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Cemeteries,
Historical
Markers,
Docks,
Wharfs:
National
Defense:
(General)
retaining wall and revetments, 1,247,000 lin» ft, of riprap, over 500,000
lin* ft, of levees and embankments and approximately 500,000 lin» ft, of
jetties and breakwater« Bulkheads total 160,000 lin, it» in length«
Forty flood and erosion control dams were built and seven check dams and
nine diversion dams were added to prevent loss of valuable soil and also
conserve water supply» Facilities for the prevention of forest fires have
been increased by the construction of 25 miles of fire breaks and more than
125 miles of fire and forest trails.
Approximately 192,000 acres of land have been benefited for agri¬
cultural purposes by the construction and reconditioning of more than 250
miles of irrigation ditches, flumes and canals. In addition, over 166,000
acres were improved by the construction and reconditioning of 350 miles of
drainage ditches and 75 miles of drainage pipe.
The vast program of public improvements included also such work as the
constructing and improving of twenty cemeteries, constructing 41 orna¬
mental pools and fountains, 35 monuments and historical markers, erection
of over 400 miles of fencing, constructing 35 tunnels with a total length
of approximately 8,300 feet. Docks, wharfs and piers were constructed or
improved covering an area of over 280,000 sq, ft,
Over til,000,000 has been expended by the WPA for labor during the
past five years for the conservation program and the sponsors have added
$>2> 620,000 for equipment and materials.
With National Defense foremost in the minds of everyone, these days,
and with approximately 20 percent of the entire WPA program devoted to
defense projects which have priority over all other types of projects, it
is interesting to look back over the past few years and see how the un-
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employed have been utilized to build up resources and defense facilities
directly relating to our National Defense program. The WPA army of peace¬
time workers have constructed airports» roads» army barracks» National
Guard camps» rifle ranges» storage buildings» installed water and sewer
systems and carried on community service recreational and educational
projects, vocational training and many others which are now of vital im¬
portance, Moro than $4,150.000 have been expended by WPA on airports and
airways during the past five years. The sponsors have added close to
$2,000,000» This, however, does not include the amount of Federal funds
allotted to projects since certified by the army as essential to National
Defense work, and which are being operated at present.
From the beginning of the program to September .30, 1940, WPA has
completed or improved 21 airports and landing areas with a total of 8,245
acres, 19 landing fields with a total area of 2,710 acres, new and im- •
proved runways totaling approximately 75,000 lin. ft. of which 30,000 feet
was high-typed surfaced construction. Five administration buildings, ten
hangars and twelve other airport buildings were also constructed, improved
or additions added. Two landing areas were flood lighted and 579 boundary
lights installed. Three hundred seventy-four air way markers were in¬
stalled and two airway beacons installed. Fifty-eight new buildings were
constructed and 124 reconstructed or improved. These included hospitals
and infirmaries, garages, storage buildings, armories, automotive and
mechanical equipment maintenance shops, officers residences, barracks,
dining halls and mess halls, horse barns, stables and other buildings.
Three electric power plants and one heating plant were installed.
Seventeen miles of telephone and telegraph lines and is miles of electric
power lines were built. Included in this work is also the construction
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of more than 80 miles of access roads to Military and Naval reserva¬
tions and roads on such reservations.
The WPA airport program in the past has been concentrated chiefly on
the enlargement and modernization of existing municipal airports and land¬
ing fields. It is estimated that 85 percent of all work on airports
throughout the country during the last five years has been done by WPA,
thus placing this agency in the foreground of this particular phase of the
preparedness program.
The next largest amount of funds was spent on projects for the Army
and Navy, According to Howard 0. Hunter» Acting Commissioner of the Work
Projects Administration» army officers have stated that had it not been for
V/PA» particularly during the period from 1935 to 1939» depreciation of
facilities at Army posts throughout tho country would have presented a far
more serious problem than it did. In a number of instances it was said»
work financed by the WPA was the only rehabilitation and remodeling avail¬
able over a period of years.
On June 6» 1940, the National Office of the WPA notified all State
Administrators to give priority to projects which the War and Navy Depart¬
ment considered of first importance at this time to National Defense.
These projects cover Navy Yards» Military Reservations of major size and
airports located in strategic areas» also construction of houses and other
facilities for enlargment of Military garrisons» camp and cantonment con¬
struction and various improvements in Navy Yards. Many of the projects
given priority have been started or are approved and ready for operation.
Rapid expansion of preparedness activities during the past six months has
served to boost the five-year total of WPA expenditures for National
Defense projects close to §15,000,000. Since August l, 1940, eleven
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projects in this category totaling more than $5,100,000 have been certi¬
fied by the War Department, Sponsor's contributions will increase this
amount to another $1,100,000*
Rational Airports included in this certified group are the Sunset Airport, two
Defense :
(Sunset Air- miles west of Spokane city limits. The complete development of this air-
port)
port will provide a modern airport complying with the requirements to form
a Class 4 rating as designed by the Civil Aeronautics Authorities. This
airport comprises an area totaling 1,200 acres. When completely developed
it is contemplated that the field will contain eight runways and adminis¬
tration and hangar facilities ox unlimited proportions,
(Pullman The Pullman Airport has a landing area of 320 acres. It is needed in
Airport)
the Defense program to provide a suitable field for the training of
student fliers. It will be used jointly by the Washington State College
and the University of Idaho. Students will be taught in accordance with
the regulations laid down by the Civil Aeronautics Authorities.
(Snohomish The Snohomish County Airport, near Everett, is considered as very
County Air¬
port) important in the National Defense program, both in the Army and Navy be¬
cause of the fact it is practically fog free. It is located eight miles
southwest of Everett, and 22 miles northwest of Seattle, It has an area
of 680 acres, Federal funds allotted for this work amount to more than
$2,000,000 while the sponsor has contributed over $500,000* The great
scope of work under this project consists of grading four runways, 800
feet in width, one of which will be 6,000 feet in length, two will be
5,200 feet, and one approximately 5,400 feet in length. Hangars and
administration buildings will be provided. More than 500 men are now em¬
ployed by WPA on this huge airport construction work.
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(Whatcom County Another airport of great importance for National Defense is the
^ Whatcom County airport, three miles northwest of Bellingham, It has an
area of 350 acres. The work to be accomplished under this project is grad¬
ing of three runways 500 feet in width, two of which are to be 5,000 feet
long and one 4,500 feet long. It is expected by the sponsor that the field
will be declared the "port of Entry" for all flying ships crossing the
International boundary line. Three hundred seventy-five WPA workers are
speeding the work to completion in the least possible time.
(Clallam County The Clallam County Airport will receive additional improvements as a
Airport)
result of the War Department's action of certifying this airport as essen¬
tial for National Defense, These improvements call for two runways, each
5,000 feet in length by 500 feet in width. Lighting for night landing is
also included. This improvement is part of the Army's plan to provide a
suitable landing field for loaded bombers and also accommodate the largest
transport planes. The WPA has 185 men engaged in work on this project.
(Yakima County Improvements to be made by the WPA on the Yakima County Airport will
Airport)
convert this field into one of eastern Washington's most important and up-
to-date flying fields. The Yakima airport is located approximately three
miles south of the city limits and has an area of H6 acres. The first
development work on this field was started by WPA in 1936. Additional work
contemplated under the new WPA project includes clearing and grubbing of 4Q
acres, complete draining with diversion ditches and culverts and construc¬
tion of two runways. One runway will be 5,000 feet long and the other
4,000 feet in length. Each runway will be 500 feet wide with a center
strip 150 feet wide surfaced with bituminous paving.
(Olympia The Olympia Airport, located about three miles south of Olympia has two
Airport)
runways; one 3,400 feet and the other 4,000 feot in length. The WPA will
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make additional improvements by paving both runways, installing runway
lights and wind tee and excavating and laying drain pipes and other neces
sary work.
(Mom Island The importance of the Moon island Airport as a National Defense
Airport) , . .
project has been accentuated by the Army's action in giving it priority
status. This is located between Hoquiam and the city of Grays Harbor
about eleven miles from the pacific Ocean. This airport will be built on
tide lands which will require the dredging of sand and gravel from the ad
jacent waterway and raising the elevation of the land approximately eight
feet to an elevation of 18 feet, which is about six feet above mean high
tide. Under the present WPA project it is intended to fill only 70 acres
sufficient in area for one runway. Ultimately it is contemplated to fill
an area of 800 acres for a much larger development. The estimated quanti¬
ty of hydraulic fill amounts to 995,000 cu, yds. This hydraulic fill re¬
quires the placing of 2,000 cords of brush fill and 94,000 cu, yards
selected excavated material for the slope of the fill and embankment.
The runway is to be 5,170 feet long by 500 feet wide, with a concrete sur
faced center strip 150 feet wide. The concrete strip will require 95,000
square yards of six-inch concrete. An access road one mile long and 30
feet wide will be constructed to connect the runway with the County high¬
way just south of the airport and a standard 30-foot roadway one-and-one-
fourth miles long will be built to connect the highway with the city
streets of Hoquiam.
NATIONAL The Nation's largest Military Training Camp is Fort Lewis, located
DEFENSE:
(Fort lewis) about 17 miles south of Tacoma. It covers an area of 76,000 acres and is
used as a mobilizing and training ground for the army. To this camp came
recruits from all the western states to form the 91st Division which won
Year-End Report
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fame on the battle fields of France. A great deal of improvement work has
been done at Fort Lewis since that time and the WPA played no small part ii.
making it one of the outstanding Forts of the Nation.
The work performed by an army of WPA workers includes clearing 120
acres of heavy brush and stump land» constructing 54 miles of roads and
fire trails; landscaping 356 acres and clearing and grading 502 acres for
an airport and landing field. A. 5,000 x 600 feet runway was leveled. WPA
also improved streets, constructed curbs and gutters, roads and driveways,
outposts, gun positions, telephone lines and repaired and improved build¬
ings. Work under way at present includes construction of utilities and
facilities for temporary barracks, gas mains, water „»ins, electric power
lines, additional roads and parking areas.
(McChord McChord Field has the distinction of being one of the Nation's larges;
Field.)
Military airports. It is being developed under the management of the Army
Quarter Masters Corps. It has an area of 1,800 acres, a greater part of
which was formerly virgin country-side. V7PA has cleared more than 500
acres of heavily timbered land, a 1,484 landing area and an 83 acre landing
field and landscaped 23 acres for the officers' and enlisted men's quarters
Railroad tracks and spurs and miles of curbs, gutters and sidewalks were
constructed. More than 6,000 lin. ft. of fence were built and approximate^'
7,500 steel posts set. Building transmission lines, rights-of-way, clear¬
ing, excavating for heating plants, distribution lines, water distribution
systems, sewers, laying of pipes and back filling was some of the work done
by WPA« Warming aprons were constructed and much other important work in
connection with the development of McChord Field was performed. Consider¬
able difficulty was encountered in the clearing of the landing field. A
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Year-End. Report
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creek which cut across the landing field had to be diverted. Peat was
found in large deposits near the runway, phis peat was dug up and replac¬
ed with gravel. The underlying portion of the field, however, is a
glacial deposit, making the very finest base for natural drainage. Em¬
ployment at McChord Field has fluctuated from 300 to 1,500 men,
(Sand Point Sand Point Naval Air Station, situated on the shores of Lake Washing-
Naval Air
Station) ton just north of Seattle, is rapidly taking first place as one of the
Nation's most important and best equipped air stations. More than
$4,500,000 have been allocated from relief funds for the improvement of
this Naval Air Station during the past five years of WPA operations and an
additional $1,500,000 have been provided by the Navy,
During the past five years large V/PA crews have worked clearing and
leveling the grounds, building runways, constructing buildings and doing
other necessary work at this station. Approximately 400 men are now
assigned to the project. As many as 1,600 WPA workers have been employed
at this Air Station. These workers have taken an actual and important
part in tho building of our National Defense long before there was any
public demand for rearmament. They have been a valuable secondary line 01
Defense while earning urgently needed security wages.
At the Naval Air Station, V/PÂ crews have leveled 43a acres of hills
and valleys into a landing area with a 2,000 acre landing field. They
have built huge hangars, an entire series of Class "A" brick buildings
for officers' quarters, an administration building, small officers' dwell¬
ings and surfaced and repaired other buildings. They have constructed
new recreational facilities and laid thousands of square yards of concrete
side walks and airplane warming aprons. Miles of steam transmission and
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Year-End. Report
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telephone lines have been completed., A net-work of underground water and
sewer lines were constructed. Extensive landscaping was done and thousands
of shrubs were planted. A pistol and machine gun range, power plants, a
pyrotechnic building and surfaced roads were completed,
(Brerrerton Xhe full scope of WPA work on behalf of National Defense is emphasized
fjavy Yard)
by the work which WPA has accomplished in the past five years on projects
operated in the Bremerton Navy Yard, The Bremerton Navy Yard is one of the
major west coast bases and the variety ana extent of projects operated by
WPA at this important base presents an impressive total. The work includes
thousands of cubic yards of concrete streets, floors and sidewalks, a new
sheet metal shop, a four-story wing addition to the existing hospital, an
addition to the nurses quarters, ordinance storage house and the construc¬
tion of additional magazine buildings. Other buildings constructed include
additions to water front structures, construction of a modern Class "A"
steel and brick blacksmith shop a.id a chemical laboratory.
Assistance was given in the completion of one heavy metal storage
building and five additional smaller storage buildings. Other accomplish¬
ments by WPA include repairing of railroad tracks, demolition of buildings,
construction of fences, retaining walls, surfacing of roads, improvement of
drainage systems and clearing of 15 acres of land. Extensive improvements
were made to industrial facilities, supply facilities and distribution
systems also to a Naval ammunition depot and Naval torpedo facilities at the
Puget Sound Navy Yard, Other facilities are ports constructed and rehabili¬
tated at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, and Naval ammunition depot and Naval
torpedo station at the Naval Reservation, Baintridge Island and Middlepoint,
Work also included storm sewers, improving and paving tracks, distribu-
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tion systems, transportation equipment, recreational facilities and water
front structures and accessories. These and other Defense projects at the
Bremerton Navy yards represent a Federal allotment from WPA funds amount¬
ing to $3,375,000. More than &400.000 has been provided by the Navy for
material and supervision.
Over 600 men from WPA rolls are now assigned to the project at the
Navy Yard. As many as 1,800 V/PÂ workers have been employed at the Navy
Yard at various times.
NATIONAL DEFENSE: These airport facilities are in addition to a far greater number made
(Airports,
General) available by V/PA on. state, local and Government sites throughout the state
Military officials consider all airports important to the Defense program.
In addition to the certified National Defense projects, WPA has built
equipment and improved and extended many airports throughout the state.
Mention should be made of the Boeing Airport, Seattle, where V/PA has con¬
verted a flying field into a modern airport. Other airport modernization
by WPA includes the Bremerton landing area of 230 acres, Wenatchee airport
where WPA added 40 acres to the existing 160 acres, the municipal airport
at Felts Field, Spokane, where WPA built hangars and made other extensive
improvements and which has become an important unit in the Defense program
Other airports on which WPA has made extensive improvements are
Arlington, Snohomish county, Forks airport in Clallam county, Ediz Hook
near port Angeles where WPA constructed a landing field and at Pierson
Field at the Vancouver Army barracks. WPA improved Cowlitz county airport
near Kelso and the prosser municipal airport received ground and road im¬
provements. Skagit county at Mt, Vernon was improved by clearing and
grubbing and construction of the North-South runway for an emergency land¬
ing field. Other crews completed the Stevens county airport at Chewelah.
Year-End Report
-21-
The Springdale city airport in Stevens comity was also developed. At
Kettle Falls, Colville and Walla Walla the city airports were improved, in¬
cluding construction of runways. Other airport projects developed were in
Asotin county near Clarkston and in Kittitas county near Cle Elum.
NATIONAL DEFENSE' V/PA program for the coming months, Smith said, will emphasize the
(Military Roods)
improvement of roads of strategic Military importance. This work will be
done to a great extent, in cooperation with and by the recommendation of
the Public Roads Administration and the War and Navy Departments. Included
in this work will be the construction and improvement of access roads to
Military and Naval Reservations and airports, Another new type of highway
work will be the widening of shoulders on major routes to permit the park¬
ing of army trucks practicing army maneuvers, without the obstruction of
ordinary traffic.
Donrevillo. One of the major V/PÂ projects operating in Washington and which is
lYnns-nssion
.Ivies: vital to the National Defense program is the Bonneville Transmission Line
Clearing project. WPA das approved more than $3,000,000 for the clearing
of this project and the employment of V/PA workers. More than $800,000 was
contributed by the U. S. Department of the Interior, the Bonneville project,
sponsor for the Bonneville Transmission Clearing project. The estimated
work for projects approved and now operating, consists of approximately
439 miles of transmission lines rights-of-way, 150, 250 and 300 feet wide,
involving approximately 13,300 acres of rights-of-way clearing. More than
50 percent of this clearing is heavy virgin timber and the balance is
medium heavy and light timber clearing. The work also involves approxi¬
mately 476 miles of service and access roads, including 10,330 lin. ft. of
culverts and timber bridge construction and clearing, grubbing and excava¬
tion for 237 tower sites.
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Three main transmission lines running out of the Bonneville sub¬
station at Vancouver, Washington to be cleared by WPÂ crews, covers a
total of over 555 miles. The Bonneville-Yakima-Grand Coulee line starts
at the Bonneville Dam in Skamania County about 32 miles east of Vancouver,
and follows an easterly and north-easterly direction by way of Yakima
County to Grand Coulee, passing through Skamania, Klickitat, Yakima,
Kittitas, Benton, Grant, Chelan, Douglas and Lincoln counties, a distance
of 239 miles. The Vancouver-Aberdeen line starts at Vancouver in Clark
County, thence in a northwesterly direction to Aberdeen in Grays Harbor
county, passing through Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum, Lewis, Pacific and
Grays Harbor Counties, a distance of approximately 127 miles. The
Vancouver-Eugene line starts at Vancouver, Washington, and follows a north
erly direction to the Columbia river for a distance of approximately three
miles. The Chehalis-Renton line starts at Vancouver, thence north-easterl,
to a location near Kenton in King county, a distance of approximately 70
miles.
In clearing the rights-of-way on the Bonneville-Yakima-Grand Coulee
line, Vv'-A crews in some sections worked from three large camps which
accommodated large crews remote from towns and cities, while in other
locations crews were drawn from near-by counties. More than 2,500 men
were assigned to the clearing of rights-of-way for transmission lines
throughout the entire system.
To accommodate crews working in isolated sections where it was nec¬
essary to concentrate men in considerable numbers to clear rights-of-way
areas through mountainous and sparcely settled territory, three camps
were established. More than 280 miles of transmission lines were built in
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very mountainous areas. A great deal of the work was done by hand labor.
Hand logging consisted of brush clearing, falling, bucking, piling and
burning. Clearing operations were especially difficult owing to the large
amount of undergrowth, snags and windfalls encountered, some of the trees
being six feet in diameter. Machine logging was done with "cats" equipped
with necessary logging tackle. Approximately 80 man-haul trucks were used
to transport men and equipment to the clearing operations, which, in some
cases, had to be delivered a considerable distance, owing to the mountain¬
ous regions in which the men were clearing the transmission lines.
The major portion of the clearing of all rights-of-way on the Bonne¬
ville-Aberdeen, the Bonneville-Sugene and the Bonneville-Yakima-Grand
Coulee lines are almost completed and the contractors have erected the
towers and power lines.
The three camps located on the Bonneville-Yakima-Grand Coulee line
have been closed and a greater portion of the workers have been assigned to
other parts of the clearing operations or returned to projects in their
local communities wherever possible. Clearing of the right-of-way on the
Chehalis-Renton line is approximately 90 percent completed, A crew of WPA
workers have almost completed the clearing of 55 acres for the sub-station
site at Covington, near Kent, King county and the right-of-way clearing
between Covington and Tacoma is approximately 90 percent completed to the
Pierce county line. Other crews are clearing the 250 foot right-of-way for
the line that will run from Covington to Renton. At present there are 342
WPA workers working on the Bonneville clearing project; 245 in King county
and 97 in Cowlitz county.
On January 14, 1941, a new project carried on the clearing work from
Covington in King county across the Cascade Range to the Columbia River
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Year-End Report
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near Rock Island, in Chelan County» a short distance from Coulee Dam. This
line will pass through Ravensdale, Kangley, Lester, Stampede pass, Easton,
Cle Elum and Colockum Pass, a distance of approximately 117 miles. Work
involved in the clearing of this line includes the clearing of 3»024' acres,
65 percent of which is heavy timber in mountainous regions, 25 percent is
medium and the balance light and brush clearing; grubbing for 500 tower
sites and the construction of approximately 126 miles of access roads,
WPA has allotted approximately $2,000,000 for labor and more than
$400,000 is being provided by the sponsor for equipment and machinery.
To facilitate clearing of the rights-of-way through mountainous and
sparcely settled territory, plans are being made to establish possibly three
camps, each to house approximately 250 men, Locations of these camp sites
will be determined within the next few days and it is expected to have the
first camp established by the 15th of February,
Columbia River The Columbia River Reservoir Clearing project, considered to be the
Reservoir
Clearing largest clearing operation ever attempted by V/P» is now nearing completion.
Project:
Close to 3,000 men, housed in six camps, are rushing the work to complete
the job before the steadily rising water of the Columbia, held back by
Coulee dam, will forever cover the 52,000 acres included in the reservoir
area. Timber will be removed, towns and farm buildings razed, railroads
and telephone lines and highways and buildings will be relocated on higher
ground, V/PA will clear the area of all objects which might obstruct or
cause damage to any part of the Coulee dam. The reservoir will be in¬
undated from the dam to the Canadian border, a distance of 150 miles, in¬
cluding the Columbia river and its tributaries, the Spokane, Sanpoil and
Kettle rivers, to a height of 1,290 feet above sea level providing a shore
line of 500 miles which will be the largest fresh water lake west of the
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Year-End. Report
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Great Lakes. It will also be the second largest man-made lake in the
world. The surface of the lake behind the Grand Coulee Dam will be ap¬
proximately 84,000 acres and within the "flood line" contour 89»500 acres.
Already the dam has backed the water a considerable distance and the river
is now navigable from the dam to a point south of Kettle Falls, a distance
of 100 miles above the dam. Since September l, 1940» "to date, the water
surface in the reservoir above Coulee dam has remained fairly steady
between the elevations of 1127 and 1137 feet.
The project operates in Douglas, Okanogan, Ferry, Lincoln and Stevens
counties on Federally owned property and is sponsored by the U. S. Depart¬
ment Bureau of Reclamation, Because of the tremendous power possibilities
of the dam the War Department has included the Coulee Clearing project in
the category of National Defense projects.
WPA workers are speeding up operations to insure clearance of the
entire 150-mile lake bed before the rise of the water to 1,265 feet, its
permanent level in the summer of 1941. Clearing operations will extend to
1,290 feet above sea level to take care of any unexpected high water in
the reservoir.
The six camps, housing the workers which are clearing the reservoir
are; Camp Kettle, located at the old site of Kettle Falls, with 750 men;
Camp Gifford, located at Gifford, with 625 men; Camp Gerome, located at
Gerome, with 700 men; Camp Spokane located at the site of old Fort Spokane,
with 240 men; Camp Detillion, located on the Spokane river about five miles
up stream from the Detillion bridge, with 235 men and Camp Ferry, the
floating camp, with 200 men now located on the Columbia river at Keller
ferry. Camp Ferry is used to clear the precipitous slopes inaccessible to
land crews. Of the 52,000 acres to be cleared in the reservoir area, V/PA
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Year-End Report
-26-
erews have completed 41,000 acres, or more than 72 percent. More than
22,000,000 board feet of marketable timber has been decked at the nearest
river bank where it is floated down stream to saw mills operated by private
contractors who purchased the logs from the Bureau of Reclamation, Enough
timber to build 1,500 average American homes has been cut from the clear¬
ing area. It is estimated that more than 45,000,000 board feet of market¬
able timber would be cut in the reservoir area before the project is
completed in the summer of 1941. Mill owners declare this huge cut will
aid this state in meeting the great demand for lumber which at present is
exceeding the supply to the requirements of the Defense program. Five
million feet of logs cut from the reservoir area by V/PA crews and delivered
to the saw mill were cut into orange box material and shipped to South
Africa, according to a report received from the mill operator.
Twenty-four large "cat" tractors, equipped with bull dozer blades and
land-clearing attachments, double drum hoist and tow winches speed the
clearing operations, build access roads, pile timber and stumps for burning
and tow marketable timber to the river's edge to be floated down the river
to the saw mill. Additional mechanized equipment consists of 49 trucks,
from one-and-one-half to six ton capacity, many of which are used to trans¬
port men from camps to clearing operations and return, while others haul
tools and equipment, material, food and provisions from railroad terminal
and warehouse, to the camps.
The V/PA "Navy" now has a fleet of 22 boats used in transporting men
and material to points along the shores of the turbulent Columbia, soon to
form a 150-mile lake of quiet water. The Paul Bunyan 65-foot Diesel-
powered boat, built by WP» was the first to navigate the reservoir lake.
This craft is used to move the three-barge Camp Ferry to operating
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Year-End. Report
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locations along the river to points where land, crews are not able to clear
because of the steep and rocky slopes. The Paul Bunyan is also used to
transport from 300 to 500 men daily to and from work» transport heavy
equipment, place safety booms and ply the more dangerous waters in the
river where ether boats could not navigate. The Blue Ox, a 42-foot single
screw Diesel-powered boat also transports men and equipment and tows barges
in the upper part of the reservoir. Two tug boats, the Wellpinit and the
Nespelem, each 40' 5" with 12-foot beam, constructed on the reservoir site
by WPÂ crews, are also used to tow barges and transport men and equipment
to points along the river to clearing sites.
Five, 5 x go shallow drift skiffs, used with oars or out-board motors
are used for safety patroling below precipitous places when men work from
slings.
Workers are housed in clean, sanitary camps. Three wholesome, sub¬
stantial meals are served each day with a large variety of food. Two camp
physicians are members of the WPA staff. A. separate infirmary building is
constructed in each camp. A. male nurse is in attendance at each infirmary
at all times. Recreational halls are provided with V/PÂ recreational lead¬
ers in charge.
Work yet to be accomplished before the final permanent rise of water
in the lake bed next summer, totals 500 acres of brush clearing, 9,300
acres of trees to be removed, 2,500 acres of grubbing and removal of ad¬
ditional telephone and power lines and all remaining buildings in the
reservoir area will be demolished and access roads constructed.
From Kettle Falls far down the river, deserted towns and farms in
numerous places where the clearing work has been completed, tell the story
of the huge clearing project. The town of Peach, once a thriving little
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Year-End, Report
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farm community, has disappeared under the rising waters. The old towns of
Gerome and Lincoln have also disappeared. Other towns which soon will meet
the same fate are Daisy, Gifford, Harvey, Inchelium, Kettle Falls, Keller,
Marcus and Boyd. These will eventually be covered by water. More than
2,000 persons will have been evacuated from the reservoir area.
Graves of many Indians whose tribes lived and died along the Columbia
will have been moved before the rising waters of the lake cover them. The
Bureau of Reclamation awarded the contract for the removal of about 1,000
Indian and a small number of white people's graves, to a private under¬
taking firm,
Already applications which have been made before the State Department
of Public Service for permits to operate passenger boats on the Columbia
river reservoir above the dam, emphasizes the approach of the time when
hundreds of boats will ply the lake which will extend to the International
boundary line. The lake will become one of the scenic attractions of the
Northwest. Summer homes and thriving communities will undoubtedly line its
shores. In addition to the lake and its shore line becoming a vast play¬
ground, it will form a great water highway from the dam to the Canadian
boundary where the products from farms and mills of this vast area will be
exported and transported by boat, mills and factories will be built,
attracted by the power resources of the great Coulee dam.
The WPA will have invested more than $4,000,000 in the clearing of the
reservoir area, all of which has gone into wages of the unemployed, needy
workers. The sponsor, the Bureau of Reclamation furnished most of the
equipment. All of the wages paid to the WPA workers are spent in near-by
communities for food and other necessary articles and services, thus
stimulating employment in private industry.
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Year-End. Report
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PROFESSIONAL AND SERVICE PROJECTS
While the WPA construction program has been building up the physical
part of the machine, professional and Service projects have been contri¬
buting to its health and culture. Most of the millions of persons who are
deriving benefits from the Professional and Service projects, with few ex¬
ceptions, are persons in the lower income brackets and could not afford the
important services and assistance our project workers have been able to
provide.
The past depression, in its economic break-down, effected nearly
every family and home in the state. Women in the state swelled the ranks
of the WPA service groups a tenth part of the unemployed workers. Ample
provision through sewing projects, mothers' aid, hot lunch service, teach¬
ing, canning food stuff for persons in need and for school lunches, library
service and other work, was made.
Sewing Service projects, particularly tho Sewing projects, have proven the
Project:
most appropriate, effective means of providing employment for large numbers
of women. Work on sewing projects consists chiefly of making cotton gar¬
ments such as infants' wear, boy's and men's shirts, pajamas, underwear
and overalls, women's and girls' dresses, sleeping ga-ments, aprons,
blouses, household articles, including sheets, pillow cases, towels and
blankets, as well as surgical dressings and articles used in WPA projects.
Usually the projects work from job orders furnished by the sponsoring
agency, the State Department of Social Security. The articles produced are
turned over to the Commodity Distribution Department of the State Depart¬
ment of Social Security, for distribution to relief or Old Age Pension and
Aid to Dependent Children recipients.
During the past five years of WPA operations, between 1,800 and 3,000
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Year-End Report
-30-
women in forty sewing rooms, operating in as many as 24 counties during
this period have made more than 4,500,000 garments and other articles for
needy persons and institutions.
Hot Lunch probably equally as popular as the Sewing project, is the Kot School
Project:
Lunch project, V/PÂ women, during the past five years, have prepared more
than 14,000,000 free hot lunches for children in public schools throughout
the state of Washington, It was found in thousands of cases that this hot
lunch prepared and served free of cost in the schools, was the only nourish¬
ing, satisfying meal the children had throughout the day. For some time
the hot school lunch afforded the only milk in their diet. Children whose
parents have suffered through lack of income have been unable to provide the
milk, fresh vegetables and nourishing food so necessary to growing children.
In addition, diminishing revenues have caused many state and local
educational establishments to mak3 drastic reductions in their budgets. In
hundreds of communities, all but the most essential functions have been
dropped and school children have suffered in consequence.
Nearly ninety percent of the children who received free hot nourishing
lunches showed marked gain in weight and improvement in general health.
Teachers and mothers report a noticeable decrease in colds and other ill¬
nesses and an increased attendance since V/PA lunch units were opened in the
schools. The V/PA hot lunch program is sponsored by the State Department of
Public Instructions, Food and equipment are supplied by the sponsors; by
cooperating agencies such as the p.T.A.» women's clubs, the Surplus Com-
0
modifies Corporation or through canning and gardening projects. Many of
the canning and garden projects are carried on with the assistance of V/PA
workers. During the 1939-40 school year, 5,000,000 lunches were served to
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Year-End, Report
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an average of 50,000 children per day in 421 schools of 29 counties of the
state.
In addition to serving daily nourishing meals to large groups of
children, the hot lunch project provided employment for needy men and women.
These workers are chosen from the relief rolls. Each must have a health
certificate issued by a reputable physician and must have the ability to
plan and cook well.
An intensive program of institutes for training cooks, menu planning,
food values and proper cooking methods, is held throughout the school
season. This training service has now been expanded in conjunction with
the County Agent Service of the Department of Agriculture and meetings with
cooks are held regularly every month. Trained home economists hold demon¬
strations with special emphasis on the use of surplus commodities in the
school lunches. Surplus commodities have made it possible to include in
the meals, fresh fruit, especially oranges so rich in vitamins and other
health building qualities. In many cases this fruit served at the school
lunches is the only fresh fruit the child receives.
Chiming and The canning of fruit and vegetables has been a factor in supplementing
Garden Project:
the foods for use in supplying school lunches and for the needy. Numerous
garden projects, sponsored by the various counties, employ WPÂ labor. Co-
sponsors, such as p.T.A.» Mothers' clubs, granges and school boards augment
the sponsors' contributions by furnishing ground, seed, material and equip¬
ment which is turned over to W?A gardening staffs. Many of the fifty
different varieties of produce harvested are preserved in the WPA canning
units. Root vegetables are stored in beds for use on school lunches during
the winter. Large amounts of surplus food are donated by interested persons,
in some cases groups of women donate their time and gather this surplus
SY
Year-End Report
•32-
food stuff to be canned; Even the school children have organized "Rustlers
Clubs", going out in groups and picking surplus fruits and vegetables.
Canning of all types is done under technical supervision. More than 30,-00C
quarts of produce and garden stuff were canned in 18 canning centers by
WPA workers for use in the school lunch program during the 1939-40 school
season.
State-Owed in addition to the small garden and canning projects operated by VVPA
Processing
Plants: to supply the food for the hot lunches, WPA workers are contributing great¬
ly to the success of the four state-owned food processing plants operated
for the purpose of giving people on relief (those receiving pensions or
other forms of public assistance), ViPA workers and marginal cases, an
opportunity to increase their income by taking the fresh produce which they
raise or which is donated to them to the state-owned cannery to be process¬
ed. This service is also available to f.T.A. groups, schools and welfare
agencies. Under trained WPA supervisors the produce is prepared for
canning by the patrons of the plant. The actual canning work is performed
by WPA workers. The canneries, located at Kirkland, Kent, Wapato and
Wenatchee, are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance, Budget
and Business, In return for the use of canning facilities, fuel, cans and
supervision, the Department requires that those patronizing the plant pay,
as compensation, a toll of one-third of their produce to the state. The
remaining produce belongs to the patron and is put up in Mo. 2% size cans.
The cans are all stamped with the name of the product and the patron's
number and the label "Not to be Sold". None of the processed goods can be
sold or released upon the open market to compete with the products of
private industry. The purpose of these canneries is to help people to
help themselves.
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Year-End, Report
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During the 1940 canning season which ended October 23» 1940» the foui
plants processed 1,275,000 No. 2^- size cans of food. More than 3,000,000
No. 2¿- size cans of food, 20 tons of apples, prunes and pears were de hydra t
ed and approximately 3,000 pounds of hams, bacon and other meats were cures,
and smoked and 3,000 gallons of fruit juices processed by WPA workers dur¬
ing the five years of WPA operations.
Housekeeping No less important than the Hot Lunch project is that of the WPA House-
Aide:
keeping Aide project. The purpose of this project is to provide employ¬
ment for needy persons by furnishing home assistance in house work and
care of children. Experienced, middle-aged women, assigned from the certi¬
fied employment rolls, take charge of needy homes where the home maker is
temporarily incapacitated due to illness, confinement or other causes, and
assist in home work and care of the children. Countless instances show
that older children previously forced to miss school to care for younger
brothers and sisters, were allowed to return to their studies through this
service. Approximately 400 WPA women employees have made more than
300,000 visits to some 20,000 needy Washington families since the WPA
Housekeeping projects were inaugurated nearly four years ago. These WPA
workers have stepped into 500 motherless, nearly or entirely destitute
homes, and rescued grossly neglected children from pitiable home surround¬
ings. The Housekeeping Aide project has helped to keep together many
families during a difficult period,
Matron Another project that is meeting with general approval and is in great
Service:
demand is the Matron Service project for schools. This project provides
for supervision of the younger children. The need for service projects of
this kind is demonstrated by the success of matrons in assisting the school
authorities in preventing serious epidemics of colds when inclement weatter
causes large numbers of children, especially in rural communities where
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Year-End. Report
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they have to travel a considerable distance, to sit all day with wet feet
and clothes. Matrons see to it that these children are made comfortable.
Locker rooms and lavatories are kept in orderly and sanitary condition.
Matrons also take care of emergency mending and cleaning and assist nurses
in rendering first aid in schools which have a nurse in charge.
tfursery iphe Nursery school is another one of the child guidance activities
Schools:
of the WPA to help under-privileged children from two to four years of
age. At present there are 14< Nursery Schools in nine counties operating
in the state, all located in public school buildings, sponsored by the
State Superintendent of Public Instructions. The schools are staffed by
WPA with two teachers, a cook and a handy-man for each school. Children
are assigned to these nurseries from the families of needy people. They
come from homes where the mother works or where there are too many children
for her to care for and where, at homo, the nursery-school age children
do not get proper nourishment or rest. Children are taught habits of
cleanliness in body and dress; cooperation with others; self reliance;
ability to take care of themselves; good social attitude and many other
important things. Strong healthy bodies and personal interests are develop¬
ed.
parent education meetings are conducted bi-monthly with the Nursery
School mothers. Also frequent individual conversations occur, either
incidentally or by appointment. The daily meals, sleeping, elimination
and various sundry individual problems are discussed and evaluated. The
supervision of the children in the Nursery Schools is under the direction
of a graduate nurse. She helps the teachers have a better understanding
of the daily inspection, arranges for medical examinations and for immun¬
ization and vaccination of each child and contacts Doctors and clinics,
SY
Year-End. Report
-35-
soliciting their services for the care of these children. Before each
child has his physical examination, she visits the home and obtains the
child's past medical history. This enables her to check on the home condi¬
tions and gives the mother an opportunity to ask questions about her child.
After a child is absent three days or more the nurse calls at the homo to
ascertain if he is ill and the nature of the illness. She assists the
mother and teaches her the proper and simple way to care for a sick child.
Workers For the training of young women in more efficient methods of house-
Training:
hold management the WPÂ bas undertaken the operation of a number of house¬
hold Workers Training centers, taking carefully selected young women from
the WPA and NYA rolls and teaching them the art of better housekeeping,.
Five divisions: food preparation; table service; household management,
including planning and buying; home care and laundrying are taught,
Tho Workers Training Institute aims to teach the fundamentals in
modern home making under qualified home economic supervision. Courses in
laundry and home care, including the many tasks involved, are basic with
scheduled menu planning and marketing and with nursery classes to include
child care and feeding. Service includes formal and informal service with
stress on correlating tasks of the second maid.
As the course is limited to three months, one month is spent in cook¬
ing, The mature worker who wishes to learn newer methods takes major
courses and qualifies for a higher wage rating and serves her employer much
more efficiently, while the beginner succeeds in getting fundamentals and
preliminary methods. Careful placements are made and students finishing
the courses are encouraged to come back for help with their problems. Em¬
ployers, in turn, are encouraged to bring their problems to the supervisor
in order that adjustments may be satisfactorily made for both concerned,
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Year-end Re-port
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This three-months course has been completed by 658 trainees. Of this
number 438 initial placements have been made. Many of the other married
and were better fitted to manage their own homes as a result of this train¬
ing.
Libraries: Economic and effective library service has been developed on a state¬
wide basis through the help of the WPA« Millions of books and other
literary materials which were stored, unrepaired and unrecorded because
of depressed budgets of libraries and schools, have been made available by
additional library workers supplied by V/PA» Under the state-wide library
project, sponsored by the State Department of Public Instructions, WPA
workers working under trained supervision, are providing assistance to
public and school libraries, also giving special service in communities
where library service has not been available. Work includes cataloging
and indexing; typing and filing; indexing cards; re-arranging books and
exhibits; delivering books to shut-ins; distributing books in isolated
communities; assisting in reference work; checking shelf lists; repairing
books and periodicals and making repairs and improvements to library equip¬
ment.
WPA library workers in Washington have cataloged over 1,800,000
volumes which means that improved card records have made this many books
more readily available to readers. About 1,500,000 books have been re¬
turned to active service by V/PA book repair project workers. This work is
done by WPA only if the institution is unable to finance it within its
local budget.
The Washington State per capita tax income available for library
service is far below the standard set for adequate service by the American
Library Association and the improvements made by WPA could not have been
SY
Year-End Report
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accomplished without Federal aid»
To combat the deplorable lack of libraries in rural areas, the first
WPA bookmobile (also reported the first under the Work Program on the
pacific Coast) was established in Thurston county in April 1939« Since
then the circuit was extended to include Mason and Grays Harbor counties.
Another circuit operates in Spokane county. These units will be followed
by other motorized libraries as rapidly as arrangements can be made with
other co-sponsors in conjunction with the sponsor, the State Department of
Public Instructions, State Library.
Manned by a driver and a trained librarian provided with WPA funds,
the traveling library visits rural schools and other conveniently establish¬
ed points along fixed routes, to distribute free library books and pick up
returning books. Both of the bookmobiles are constructed in delivery van
type and are lined with loaded book shelves. Books arc accessible through
a rear entry door and by opening hinged panels on either side of the ex¬
terior body. The carrying capacity is from 650 to 800 volumes. Books are
provided through the cooperation of the sponsoring State Library, local
town libraries and a few new books from WPA. Books on travel, science,
fiction and in fact all types of volumes found in the usual library are
available for those benefited by this service. A. total of 234 library
workers are employed on the state-wide library project, serving approxi¬
mately 50 towns and communities, in addition to communities served by the
bookmobile.
To further extend library facilities of our state, the WPA approved a
pacific Northwest Union Cataloging Project to establish a bibliographical
center by preparing a union library catalog. The union library card catalqg
will be compiled of the holdings of the major libraries in the pacific
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Year-End Report
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Northwost including the states of Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington as
well as several libraries in British Columbia, from which the sponsor, the
University of Washington, will obtain all information.
The work includes sorting and arranging Library of Congress cards in
an alphabetical order to be used as a base catalog; inter-filing John
Crerar (which is the outstanding scientific library in the United States) -
and cooperating library cards in the base catalog, selecting, pulling,
photographing and developing negatives of main entry, cross-reference and
name heading cards in the catalogs of various libraries, comparing, print¬
ing, stamping, typing and filing cards and constructing temporary trays
and racks. One million, six hundred twenty-five thousand Library of
Congress cards will be used as a base catalog and 42,000 Crerar cards and
340,000 cards of cooperating libraries will be interfiled with the base
catalog. The University of Washington has a depository of 42,000 of these
cards.
Readers For The over-all cost of the project is $108, 992, of which $41,591 is
Blind and
Shut-Ins: provided by the University of Washington, the sponsoring agency.
Readers for Shut-ins and the blind is another service activity operat¬
ing under the supervision of the Women's Division of the V/PA« This project
makes it possible for the blind and shut-ins to enjoy public library ser¬
vice with the assistance of capable WPA teachers and guidance instructors.
Under county sponsorship, the VPA furnishes qualified workers for reading
to the blind, near-blind and shut-ins, in homes, public institutions and
hospitals for the purpose of instruction and rehabilitation. Those who are
served by this project are referred for such service by the County Social
Welfare Agencies. Readers are selected by the WPA for their sociability,
sympathetic understanding, experience and educational background.
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Year-End Report
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The educational assistance rendered through this service has aided
many a deeply grateful student along the path of knowledge. The reading
service enables students to follow the regularly prescribed courses of
study they would have had in high school. At the University of Washington,
invaluable assistance has been rendered many blind students in reading the
assigned text books, reference book, notes in dictation for braille and re¬
search work. Fifteen WPA women in King County are now carrying on this
useful service, assisting some 200 "forgotten" men and women. The Univer¬
sity of Washington and the Junior League have also given valuable assist¬
ance to this project by their co-sponsorship.
Education: In the field of education, WPA's contributions have not been restrict¬
ed to the improvement of schools and equipment. Classes in a wide variety,
of subjects have provided educational opportunities for groups of almost
every age. During October 1940, a typical month, more than 40,000 persons
were enrolled for instruction under the educational program of the WPA»
Adult education classes in such subjects as literacy, naturalization,
vocational training, radio engineering, electrical work, commercial train¬
ing, home making and parent education classes, and many others were taught
by some 350 needy teachers. Enrollment in 20 literacy classes exceeded
370 persons and the enrollment of 152 naturalization classes exceeded
3,690. A total of 9,000 persons participated in home making and parent
education classes; i.e. classes dealing with home making, child guidance,
purchasing and preparation of food, and related topics. Instructions for
handicapped and institutionalized persons benefited almost 600 persons.
Correspondence classes, with an enrollment exceeding 3,000 persons, 78 art
classes, with an attendance of over 3,500 adults and children and 165 music
classes benefiting 3,500 persons were a part of the educational program
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Year-End, ßefiart
-40-
during "the month of October 1940»
Recreation: The scope of activities conducted by WPA projects in the field of
recreation has been wide. In addition to hundreds of recreational
facilities constructed by WPA> such ns buildings, parks, playgrounds,
athletic fields and tennis courts, hundreds of projects have been devoted
to the operation of community and recreational centers and to the pro¬
vision -of recreational leadership supervision and training.
More than 500 trained WPA recreational leaders are now employed as
instructors in crafts and visual arts, drama, music, miscellaneous sports,
nature lore, playground games, camping and hiking, tennis, childrens' play
centers, institutional centers and special events activities.
During October 1940, a representative month, over 291*892 persons
participated actively in 536 recreational centers, supervised by 496 train¬
ed WPA recreational leaders. The recreational program was carried on in
272 communities in 32 counties, with 37,110 persons participating in
crafts and visual arts. Recreational music was also a part of this program
with an enrollment of 22,783 and over 165,000 in sports and athletics,
while the remainder participated in other social and cultural recreational
work. Almost an equal number of persons came in contact with the program
as spectators.
Art: V/PA projects devoted to the fostering of the arts are being carried
on under recognized experts. The state art project employs painters,
sculptors, graphic artists, craftsmen, art teachers and museum workers.
Since the beginning of the V/PÂ art program in 1936, the utmost stress has
been placed on the importance of integrate arts and their relation to
community needs. Outside of Seattle, communities of the state had had no
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Year-End Report
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opportunity to study and enjoy the visual arts in any local program or ex¬
hibits. With a present employment of 45 workers, the Washington Art Proj¬
ect of the WPA* carried on a state-wide program of education. Integrated
in the community life of the people throughout the state, the project has
a dual purpose: first, the preservation and development of skills of un¬
employed artists who otherwise cannot find remunerative efforts for their
talents, and second, but no less important, iá the benefits to be derived
by community groups sponsoring and participating in the programs offered by
this project. To date a total of 42 different artists have received
assistance from and contributed to the development of art activities in
this state. In addition to skilled persons, 83 people have been given re¬
lief aid while assisting with the art program.
Activities include the designing and execution of all works of art
having artistic and educational merit. Fourteen decorative murals have
been installed in public institutions in various parts of the state.
Opportunity for community participation is afforded by the art center pro¬
gram, The Spokane Art Center, the Washington State College Art Gallery and
the Lewis County Community Exhibition Gallery are all conducting activities
designed to meet community needs. Throughout the state an average attend¬
ance of 2,500 students are benefiting from the teaching program instituted
by artists of the project. Each month, not less than six community organi¬
zations request and receive lectures on visual art subjects. In each of
the art centers, a continuous program of exhibitions demands the skill of
artists employed in the relative fields. To supply this demand, the
artists have completed works in the media of Easel Paintings, Lithographs,
Etchings, Stencils, Sculptor, Crafts and Index of American Design. The
works produced in this unit are allocated and also assembled in the form of
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Year-End Report
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exhibitions with analysis of media and methods used, thus aiding local
community educators in their programs of teaching art in the public schoolt
Also local study guilds are thus furnished with the necessary material to
carry on extensive cooperative study courses. There is an average in¬
creasing demand for additional activities. To meet this demand, in part,
expansion of activities is planned. Additional people will assist in an
extensive craft program. Work to be done will be available to public
institutions, primarily for public recreation buildings.
With the proposed craft program will come the first vital effort in
this state to preserve and perpetuate the crafts and designs indigenous
to the Northwest, Through the correlated efforts of communities and the
WPA Art project, art is becoming an integrated part of the life of every
community,
RESEARCH ARD SURVEY PROJECTS
Of incredible and constructive value is the work accomplished by the
WPA workers in conducting research projects. Among the many persons out oí
employment were Scientists, Doctors, Engineers, Statisticians, Accountants,
etc,, and the WPA has provided diversified employment for such persons,
utilizing their skills and training for the best interests of society as
well as for themselves. Men and women who were qualified by training and
ability for such work are engaged in research and survey studies of all
types. This work has already brought tangible results of various kinds.
Agencies of government have been improved; public revenues have been in¬
creased; child delinquency has been reduced and new resources have been
unearthed. Among the beneficiaries of such projects, in many cases, are
the private industries which formerly employed these workers.
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Study of Yeast: At the University of Washington, Professional V/PA workers assisted in
laboratory tests to improve Washington berry wine yeast culture. The
project imported six strains of yeast and developed from them more than 20C
strains. By testing out these 200 strains they have proven that eight
strains will carry an alcoholic content of from 19 to 20 percent of fer¬
mentation only to the wine of the sour cherries, fruits and berries of
Western Washington. More than one half of the wineries established in
this state are now using these strains of yeast for their wine manufacture.
Since Western Washington has thousands of acres of gravel, logged off land
of little value other than for fruit, berries and poultry, the economic
value of this project is apparent.
Wood Pulp Of special importance is the study of wood pulp carried on by ^PA
Research:
chemists under the sponsorship of the University of Washington. V/PA ^as
furnished all of the labor to complete an experiment with the Department
of Chemistry designed digester, that solved the problem of converting fir
wood into wood pulp. The results of the project should provide a large
market for low grade logs which have not been saleable as lumber and may
open an enlarged pulp industry. It is estimated that more than $8,000,000
annually of this waste in the State of Washington will ultimately be con¬
verted into wood pulp.
[find Use Another project of great importance to King county is the Land Use
Survey:
Survey, sponsored by the Assessor's office. V/PA workers made one of the
first thorough comprehensive and scientific valuation property surveys in
history. More than $10,000,000 in property values heretofore entirely un-
assessed, has been added to the property rolls in King county. At the
present rate of taxation this will add a net income of more than $350,000
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Year-End. Report
-44~
per year to the county.
The Land. Use Survey has been supplemented by an Aerial Survey of the
county and a Geodetic Triangulation Survey. The Aerial Survey has per- a
mitted expert mapping of the entire county and its topography. Under the
Geodetic Survey, township lines and individual points have been exactly
located in relation to degrees of latitude and longitude instead of to the
old Willamette Meridian line of all Pacific Northwest surveys. Latest per-
cission instruments have been used in the survey and calculations. This
survey will permit exact and permanent descriptions, size, topography and
location of real property.
Educational Educational and diagnostic tests of over 2,000 grade and high school
Tests;
children in the state of Washington, covering a period of from one to three
years were made. Graphs show the standing of each child by tests compared
to other children of the grade school, town, county or state, and the
normal or average throughout the United States. These, diagnosed from the
standpoint of errors, show teachers and school authorities the type of
errors made in rooms, grades and schools and have led to improvement, show¬
ing as much as 100 percent in an 18 month's test.
Pectin from Research work conducted by V/PA chemists in the aid to industry was
Washington
Products; carried on under Dr. W. M. Dehn, University of Washington Chemistry
Professor in charge of the project, discovered that an infinite source of
low-cost pectin exists in all the green things of Washington. Billions of
tons of this product are potentially at hand. The chemists have found that
they can obtain this substance from all kinds of tree leaves and from such
unpromising sources as pine needles. In the catalog of apples alone, pectii.
is abundantly at hand. Chemists point out that eastern Washington has an
annual accumulation of cull apples, the unmarketable waste amounting to
SY
Year-End Report
-45-
40,000 tons, On a ratio of one percent of this vast store, which would be
the amount of pectin obtainable from the waste, 800,000 pounds of pectin
could be taken from that source alone.
prozen [tick Expanded markets for processors of Washington-grown fruit and vegeta-
Ifiboratory:
bles have been made possible by development of better methods of preserva¬
tion and by creating a greater diversity in marketable forms of fruit
through quick freezing processes. The frozen pack laboratory of the U. S.
Department of Agriculture in Seattle, with the aid of ^PA chemists, has
been working for some time to increase the markets and have tested, by
quick freezing, thousands of various types of fruits and vegetables for
variety, quality, color, marketability, etc. In cooperation with the
Washington State College and the V/PA* "the frozen pack laboratories, over
a period of three years, tested more than 150 varieties of peas, 40
varieties of corn and 25 varieties of beans and large numbers of fruits.
The ratings and specifications of the various strains and their suit¬
ability for such preservation, have been sent on request to every state in
the union in the interest of fruit industry. The frozen pack industry
has grown considerably during the last few years as a result of these ex¬
periments, Between 25 and 50 freezing plants have been established in the
state of Washington, In the year 1939 these private plants utilized over
&5,000,000 of what would otherwise have been waste from fruits and vege¬
tables, and employed more than 1,000 workers during the fruit and vege¬
table seasons. Other states of the Northwest have utilized these methods
and also established private plants. The project, employing only seven
people during three years, has sent to private employment 14' or 15
chemists or bacteriologists.
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Year-End Report
-46-
juueniLe Court For the Juvenile Court, V/PA made a survey of juvenile delinquency,
Survey:
Seattle. rs
Fire
Alarm System: Department has been able to make a saving of more than $700 per month on
its overhead expenses. Work of this project covers the preparing of new
and revised record system files; drawings and maps concerning the opera¬
tion of the Seattle fire alarm system, including checking of 55$- miles of
underground cables with maps of same; preparation of 4,000 copies of
instrument cards; inventories and working registers; reels; 158 telephone
sets; sounders; gongs, with necessary field work; 3,000 sheets of fire
alarm box records; history of fire department and inventory of all personal
property.
Salmon Catch A study of the life history of the Washington and Puget Sound salmon
and
Distribution; was made through trap records of salmon catch from 1902 to 1939 inclusive;
SY
truancy and adult crime, studying the community assets and liabilities
effecting children, centers of delinquency, types of recreational facili¬
ties and attractions offered to children in different sections of the city.
These factors were analyzed and the survey served as a basis for social
planning which resulted in marked decrease of offenses, according to the
Court.
For the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, V/PA is indexing
naturalisation petitions and citizenship applications.
Existing records of foreign exports and imports of various counties
for 1937 to 1939 from Idaho, Montana and Alaska, which will be decoded and
tabulated by V/PA will prove as a basis for study of foreign trade.
A low income housing survey is being conducted to collect, tabulate
and map data upon which plans for low rate housing, slum clearance and the
elimination of sub-standard housing conditions can be developed.
On the inventory of personal property and its uses, the Seattle Fire
Year-End Report
-47-
Study of
Stress m
Earth
Masses :
Relief Map,
U. of W.
Campus;
gill nets; seine records; hatchery cards; records and analysis; the racial
history of the pink salmon of southeastern Alaska. By a study of the car
load distribution through railroad and steamship companies for all prin¬
cipal cities of the world, potential markets were pointed out to the salraoi.
industry as an outlet for its surplus.
The research work accomplished in soil mechanics at the University of
Washington, through the use of gelatin models for photoelastic analysis in
earth masses has been of incalculable value. The project operates under
the direction of F. B. Farquharson and R. G« Mennes, respectively Associ¬
ate Professor and Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at the Univer¬
sity of Washington, also associate members of the Society of Civil
Engineers.
WPÁ workers helped design and construct several pieces of major equip¬
ment for testing soils. One problem determined by this project was to find
the amount of pressure exerted at various levels in Ruby Dam. The result¬
ant tests indicated that by placing the dam abutments into the native rock,
much blasting and rock removal could be eliminated. Tests using bakelite
model showed the native rock to be better than the contemplated concrete.
Plans and details were changed and a saving of about $135,000 in construc¬
tion costs were realized by the city.
"With National Defense a paramount issue of the day", Professor
Farquharson stated, "we hope to use this equipment to test soils and founda¬
tion conditions in this area. This equipment represents highly technical
apparatus which, in some cases, is not available on the market and in
others is beyond the budget allowance of the Department".
Visual planning of permanent buildings on the University of Washington
Campus will be made possible through the construction of a plastic contour
SY
Year-End. Report
-48-
map of the campus being built by WPÂ workers. The relief map is built as a
part of a survey project to coordinate all physical features of the campus
with established control points set up by Government surveys- of the region.
Research Work With the assistance of a staff from the WPA Professional and Service
irrigation
Branch Ex- Division» agricultural investigation work on a large scale is carried on in
perimental
Station all parts of the present goo-acre Experimental area near Prosser. H« P.
Prosser,
Washington; Singleton, Superintendent of the station, stated that with the aid of V/PA
workers to assist in research, attempts would be made for the development
of fruit, grain and vegetables which will be most disease and pest resis¬
tent and most adaptable for production under irrigation in Washington,
Approximately 300 varieties of soft fruits will be studied and 100 variet¬
ies of berries and grapes. Corn hybrids will be studied which show most
resistance to the corn-ear worm. Attempts will be made to develop sweet
potatoes best suited to production in the lower Yakima Valley. Studies
will be made of soil mixture as it applies to production of apples, sugar
beets, potatoes and alfalfa.
Experimental At the Western Washington Experimental Station near Puyallup, workers
Station
Puyallup, from the Professional and Service Division of the V7PÂ are assisting in con-
Was hingt on:
ducting experimental and research work in the Department of agronomy,
horticulture, plant pathology, entomology, dairy husbandry, poultry
husbandry, soils and veterinary medicine.
An inventory of economic factors effecting land utilization in Wash¬
ington and a classification of all rural lands in the state as to the best
long-term use will be made for Washington Agricultural Experimental stations,
Factors included are land ownership, assessed valuation, tax delinquencies,
crop yields by ownership and segregations of types of holdings.
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Year-End Report
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Historical A project of intense interest and utility is the Washington Historical
Records
Survey: Records Survey project» It is state-wide, in a nation-wide WPA program
operated by the Division of professional and Service projects. The pur¬
pose of this work is to inventory source material for American history.
While this work includes listing American imprints, bibliographical work,
making compilations and creating miscellaneous aids to scholarships, the
principal work of the survey is to open up the mass of unpublished source
material for exploration, with primary emphasis on the inventoring of
local public records. In the surveying of public records, WPÂ workers
operating in county court houses and city halls make itemized lists of the
records on principal forms giving the titles, dates, general description
of contents, how arranged and indexed and the conditions under which they
are housed. After they have been edited for completeness, they are pre¬
pared for publication. Transcriptions are made from the most important
and informative records. After the transcriptions have been re-edited it
is condensed into one entry for each series of records and these entries
are cross-referenced to other entries containing related information. Real
service workers in the editing office study all legislation applicable to
the local governmental agencies and study the material abstracted from the
records and write essays explaining the relation of each record to the
government and to other records and give a brief treatment of the history,
the organization, the duties and functions of eqch office of local govern¬
ment and the legal requirements for the keeping of records. The essays
are compiled with the record entries, subjects and chronological indexes
are prepared and with the attachment of appropriate maps and charts, the
material is published in book form.
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Year-End Report
-50-
A. list of the public manuscript depositories in the state has been
published in a National Guide Book. Under the survey of manuscript
collections detailed information has been collected for 21 manuscript
depositories and detailed listings of 202 manuscript collections have been
made. Detailed information for 262 individual manuscripts has been listed,
plans call for a publication of a guide to the manuscript holdings in the
state. Under the survey of American imprints over 10,000 imprints have beer,
sent to the national office to date. This represents a partial coverage of
nine libraries. Under the survey of newspapers, detailed information has
been collected concerning approximately 700 newspapers of the state, active
and discontinued,
The project operates under the official sponsorship of the College of
Washington and the cooperating sponsorship of the various counties, cities
and libraries whose holdings it surveys.
The Washington Historical Records Survey has published five volumes
of a series entitled "Inventories of the County Archives of Washington^
The books published are for pend Oreille, Skagit, Asotin, Benton, Adams,
Lewis, Yakima, Spokane, Garfield, Lincoln, Snohomish and Stevens counties.
The surveys of county records are in some stage of completion for all but
two of the Washington's 39 counties. The Archives of five cities and towns
have been surveyed and are being rechecked before publication. Two hundred
fifty-one thousand pages of official county records, such as commercial
proceedings, official bond records, journals and minutes have been either
briefed or transcribed, beginning with the earliest records found. When
typed, filed and indexed, this material will constitute a great reservoir
of authentic data on local history and government. Copies will be filed in
the Library of Congress or the National Archives, Washington, D. C.
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Year-End, Report
■Sl¬
ot her work has been done in historical surveys, legal surveys, carto-
graphing and the survey of churches, detailed information of which has beei
collected for 1,303 churches to date.
The technical and administrative direction of the project is under
Glenn H. Lathrop, State Supervisor, who is subject to control in technical
matters by the National Director of Historical Records Survey program and
the official sponsor and control project administration by the State Super¬
visor of Research and Records Projects.
Safety; Although almost 80 percent of the V/PA program is devoted to construc¬
tion and repair work on public buildings, sewers, roads, airports and othei
hazardous occupations, and employment has ranged from a peak of 60,000
V/PA workers in 1938 to 24,500 at the present time, the H'PA has set a
record low-rate in disability injuries sustained by the workers,
The V/PA is taking an active part in the National Safety Movement and
is making a special effort to prevent accidents to those employed on WPA
projects. Every precaution is taken to teach the rudiments of Safety
First to all workers. Trained safety men are located in each district
office teaching safety measures to the foromen and supervisors. Regular
inspections are made of all scaffolding on construction jobs. Trucks and
equipment used on any V/PA project are subject to close scrutiny and must
be certified safe before they are used for any purpose. Particular atten¬
tion is paid to the powder men who do blasting in quarries and on road and
clearing projects which are exceptionally hazardous.
All accidents are investigated by the safety section, analyzed and
preventative measures adopted to prevent recurrence of similar accidents,
project supervisors are instructed to see that proper protective equip-
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Year-End Report
-52-
ment is furnished and used in accordance with established safety standards
and bulletins«
Unsafe physical conditions and unsafe practices are corrected on all
projects. The required safety appliances, including safety belts, lines,
dust respiratorios, gas masks, goggles and safety helmets are used when
needed. Adequate First Aid equipment and supplies are furnished on each
project«
inspections, education and the simplest of protective devices con¬
stitute the V/PA safety program which has established an enviable record in
low-rate industrial accidents.
National A new and increasingly important defense activity of the V/PA is the
Defense
Training supplying of trainees from the V/PA project rolls to vocational classes to
Program:
fit them for waiting jobs in industries which are engaged in production for
National Defense purposes.
The project is sponsored by the Advisory Commission to the Council
for National Defense and co-sponsored by the U. S. Office of Education,
The State Board of Vocational Education is responsible for the operation
of the program in the state.
The purpose of this project is to provide the trained workers which
industry will need. Courses in occupations essential to National Defense
and refresher courses for workers preparing for such occupations, will be
taught. These training courses will give the V/PA workers an opportunity
to take advantage of the increased employment in private industry result¬
ing from our preparedness effort. Six National Defense training schools
in which WPA will participate are now in operation in this state. They
are located in Bellingham, Snohomish, Seattle, Tacoma, Longview and
Vancouver. These cities were selected because the facilities for training
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Year-End. Report
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were already established and a potential supply of possible trainees were
available. The courses taught are those decided upon by an Advisory Com¬
mittee composed of labor organizations, employment organizations and State
Boards for Vocational Education, working in cooperation with local school
boards. This Advisory Committee determines the jobs in the essential
industries for which training shall be given and the number of persons to
be trained.
At present the schools are primarily concerned with training workers
for the essential aviation industry. However the Tacoma school is training
workers for the ship building industry and it is expected that additional
courses will be started elsewhere in the Puget Sound area as conditions
warrant.
At least 50 percent of the trainees assigned to the National Defense
training schools must be selected from the WPÂ rolls and the balance are
supplied from other sources such as the f-JYA and the Washington State Em¬
ployment Service. Oue hundred twenty-two V/PA workers are now in training
for National Defense industries in the state. This number will be in¬
creased to meet the demand for skilled workers in industry. The courses
that are being taught are welding, sheet metal work, riveting, sub-assembly
and loftsmen,
VPA Defense The work records of more than 35,000 persons on, or awaiting assign-
Employment
Register: ment to WPÂ rolls have been checked for skills or potential skills which
can be turned to production channels in defense industries, A defense
industry employment register which will show for each V/PA worker, as well
as those in or on WPA waiting lists, which will show either the skills at
which they are proficient or for which they can be trained, is being pre-
SY
Year-End Report
-54*-
pared. Workers already qualified are, of course, available for immediate
employment.- The employment register will have a card prepared for each in¬
dividual worker, showing the trades and industries in which they have had
experience, their special skills, machines operated, educational status ano
general physical condition.
Every effort is made by the WP» consistent with established Federal
policies, to facilitate the obtaining by certified persons, of private and
public jobs for which they are qualified. Workers are assured if they
leave WPA employment for private or public work, and they do not continue
in such employment that they are entitled to reassignment on a V/PA project,
provided, they leave these jobs through no fault of their own, are still
in need, and have drawn all unemployment compensation benefits available
to them.
provisions of the Appropriation Act for the current fiscal year also
require that all workers assigned on V/PA projects are required to sign an
affidavit that they are not communists, members of a Nazi bund, aliens or
affiliated with an organization advocating the overthrow of the government.
Our program for the future involves concentration upon projects de¬
finitely connected with the National Defense program. This will involve
projects sponsored by the Army and Navy Departments. These projects are
on Military reservations and in Naval stations. Work of this kind has
been going on for several years and the method of carrying out this type
of project is well understood, both by the War and Navy Departments and the
WPA. A.11 that is necessary therefore is to expand our activities to the
SY
Year-End. Report
-55-
necessary requirements. Other projects which contribute to preparedness
are also being operated. This includes the projects which are sponsored
by the state, counties and municipalities and by the public agencies of
those political subdivisions. In this field we have carried on projects
for airports, for National Guard training areas, built barracks, construct¬
ed roads which are of Military importance and have done many other kind of
work.
The primary responsibility of the WPA is still to provide work and
wages for the needy unemployed. These wages mean food and shelter for
needy families, therefore we must continue to carry on our program in
communities where the projects upon which we are working, although they
may be of great public benefit, are not directly connected with prepared¬
ness, However, to the greatest degree possible, the energy of the WPA
will be devoted to furthering National Defense,
INDEX
PAGE
ALARMS; Electric 8
Fi re
AIRPORTS: General 20
Special 14
BUILDINGS: Publtc 2
BRIDGES 6 VIADUCTS 2
BREMERTON NAVY YARDS 19
BONNEVILLE TRANSMISSION LINE 21
CEMETERIES 11
CONSERVATION; Game, Fish 8
COLUMBIA RIVER RESERVOIR CLEARING PROJECT 24
DOCKS & WHARFS 11
FLOOD CONTROL: Land Erosion, E'tc. 10
HISTORICAL MARKERS 11
NATIONAL DEFENSE: General H
Airports, Special 14
Airport s, General 20
Employment Register 53
Military Roads 21
Training Program: 59
RECREATION: Athletic Fields, Community Houses 3
Parks, Playgrounds
ROADS: General 1
Military 21
STREETS 1
STREET LIGHTS AND SIGNS 2
SANITARY UNITS 8
SEWER SYSTEMS 6
TELEPHONES 8
WATER SYSTEMS 5
WHARFS & DOCKS 11
P&üE
PROFESSIONAL & SERVICE PROJECTS: 29
A rt 40
Canning & Garden 31
Education 39
Hot Lunches 30
House keeping Aide 33
Libraries 3o
Matron Service 33
Nursery Schools 34'
Processing plant 32
Reading to Blind $ Shut-ins 38
Recreation 40
Sewing 29
Workers Training 35
RESEARCH & SURVEY: 42
Educational Tests 44
Frozen Pack Methods 45
Fire Alarm System 46
Historical Records 49
Juvenile Court Survey 46
Land Use Survey 43
National Defense Employment Register 53
National Defense Training Program 52
Pectin 44
Relief Map. Univ, of Washington Campus 47
Research Work: Experimental Stations 4-8
Safety 51
Salmon Catch <& Distribut ion 46
Stress in Earth Masses 47
Wood Pulp 43
Yeast 43